Biography  

Matthew Goetten

Matthew J. Goetten was elected and has served as the Greene County State’s Attorney since 2004. Prior to being elected to his current position, Matt served as both a staff attorney and a special prosecutor with the Illinois Appellate Prosecutor’s Office. He is licensed to practice law in both Illinois and Oregon , and has clerked for a State District Judge in Idaho and for the Jackson County State’s Attorney in Illinois prior to being licensed.  Matt also utilizes his legal experience in the military where he is a Judge Advocate General with the Illinois Army National Guard. He returned in 2009 from a year-long deployment in Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom where he acted as the Chief of Administrative Law for Task Force Phoenix. He is currently assigned to Joint Forces Headquarters in Springfield, Illinois.

Matthew Goetten graduated from the Southern Illinois School of law with honors and holds a bachelor’s degree in psychology and a master’s degree in labor relations from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. In addition, Matt has received extensive legal training through the Army’s Judge Advocate General’s School in Charlottesville, Virginia.

Prior to becoming an attorney Matt was a business owner and educator in Carrollton, Illinois. He also worked for a time as a human resource consultant in Champaign, Illinois. His military assignments have been numerous over his 12-year career in the Illinois Army National Guard and have included time in Thailand and Afghanistan.

Matt, his wife, and two children live in Carrollton, Illinois, where he grew up, attended St. John’s Elementary School and Carrollton High School. He volunteers his time coaching basketball at St. John’s and is a member of numerous service organizations including Lions, American Legion, and Knights of Columbus.